Say Goodbye to Money Problems and Hello to Firstcard

This is a sponsored feature. All opinions are 100% our own.

I’m going to be totally honest with all of you. I didn’t know how to open a bank account or budget monthly expenses until I was thrown into my first year of college. Suddenly I was responsible for paying for groceries, laundry, parking — you name it. It was less than a month before the word “personal finances” began to induce my anxiety, especially when my bank account started looking a little sad. Lucky for all college students at Cal (including myself), this problem no longer has to be the case. Let me introduce you to finance specifically tailored for students: Firstcard.

Firstcard is a Mastercard debit card that gives students 5-15% cash back when they shop within the card’s retail network, which includes over 150 stores in the San Francisco Bay Area alone. Local Berkeley retailers that participate in the Firstcard cash back program include Berkeley Thai House, The Cheese Board Collective, Caffè Strada, Abe’s Pizza, Moe’s Books, Games of Berkeley, and many more. It’s the first card ever (all pun intended) that prioritizes students’ budget needs during what can be a very financially stressful period in their lives. Oh, and I forgot to tell you the best part… it’s 100% free. That’s right — no transaction fees, annual fees, maintenance fees, or anything else.

Not only does Firstcard encourage students to continue supporting their favorite local businesses, but it’s the key to helping young people stretch their monthly budgets as far as possible. Let me explain with a simple hypothetical: If I get 5% cash back for the textbook I plan to buy from Moe’s Books and 10% cash back for my Caffè Strada chai tea latte, then maybe I save enough money to go to the movies with my friends on Friday night. The first thing I learned in my freshman year was that managing finances sometimes requires tough choices, but with Firstcard, I can finally do it all.

College life doesn’t have to come with a financial headache. Many of us are already juggling classes, part-time jobs, side projects, and so much more. With Firstcard, finances don’t need to be one of those burdens. Sign up for Firstcard today and make your money last.

• bank
• berkeley
• budget
• debit
• finance
• firstcard
• mastercard
• personal
• stanford